1,732 research outputs found
Quantum Dissipation due to the Interaction with Chaos
We discuss the possibility of having "quantum dissipation" due to the
interaction with chaotic degrees of freedom. We define the conditions that
should be satisfied in order to have a dissipative effect similar to the one
due to an interaction with a (many body) bath. We also compare with the case
where the environment is modeled by a random matrix model. In case of
interaction with "chaos" we observe a regime where the relaxation process is
non-universal, and reflects the underlaying semiclassical dynamics. As an
example we consider a two level system (spin) that interacts with a two
dimensional anharmonic oscillator.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, final improved version, to be published as Phys
Rev. E Rapid Communicatio
Water intake, faecal output and intestinal motility in horses moved from pasture to a stabled management regime with controlled exercise
Reasons for performing study: A change in management from pasture to stabling is a risk factor for equine colic.
Objectives: To investigate the effect of a management change from pasture with no controlled exercise to stabling with light exercise on aspects of gastrointestinal function related to large colon impaction. The hypothesis was that drinking water intake, faecal output, faecal water content and large intestinal motility would be altered by a transition from a pastured to a stabled regime.
Study design: Within-subject management intervention trial involving changes in feeding and exercise using noninvasive techniques.
Methods: Seven normal horses were evaluated in a within-subjects study design. Horses were monitored while at pasture 24 h/day, and for 14 days following a transition to a stabling regime with light controlled exercise. Drinking water intake, faecal output and faecal dry matter were measured. Motility of the caecum, sternal flexure and left colon (contractions/min) were measured twice daily by transcutaneous ultrasound. Mean values were pooled for the pastured regime and used as a reference for comparison with stabled data (Days 1–14 post stabling) for multilevel statistical analysis.
Results: Drinking water intake was significantly increased (mean ± s.d. pasture 2.4 ± 1.8 vs. stabled 6.4 ± 0.6 l/100 kg bwt/day), total faecal output was significantly decreased (pasture 4.62 ± 1.69 vs. stabled 1.81 ± 0.5 kg/100 kg bwt/day) and faecal dry matter content was significantly increased (pasture 18.7 ± 2.28 vs. stabled 27.2 ± 1.93% DM/day) on all days post stabling compared with measurements taken at pasture (P<0.05). Motility was significantly decreased in all regions of the large colon collectively on Day 2 post stabling (-0.76 contractions/min), and in the left colon only on Day 4 (-0.62 contractions/min; P<0.05).
Conclusions: There were significant changes in large intestinal motility patterns and parameters relating to gastrointestinal water balance during a transition from pasture to stabled management, particularly during the first 5 days
Impact on the phased abolition of co-payments on the utilisation of selected prescription medicines in Wales
We have taken advantage of a natural experiment to measure the impact of the phased abolition of prescription co-payments in Wales. We investigated 3 study periods covering the phased abolition: from £6 to £4, £4 to £3, and £3 to £0. A difference-in-difference modelling was adopted and applied to monthly UK general practice level dispensing data on 14 selected medicines which had the highest percentage of items dispensed subject to a co-payment prior to abolition. Dispensing from a comparator region (North East of England) with similar health and socio-economic characteristics to Wales, and where prescription co-payments continued during the study periods, was used to isolate any non-price effects on dispensing in Wales. Results show a small increase in dispensing of 14 selected medicines versus the comparator. Compared with NE England, monthly average Welsh dispensing was increased by 11.93 items (7.67%; 95% CI [7.2%, 8.1%]), 6.37 items (3.38%; 95% CI [2.9%, 3.7%]) and 9.18 items (4.54%; 95% CI [4.2%, 4.9%]) per practice per 1,000 population during the periods when co-payment was reduced. Price elasticities of the selected medicines utilisation were -0.23, -0.13, and -0.04 in 3 analyses, suggesting the abolition of co-payment had small effect on Welsh dispensing
Evaluating the Effectiveness of tutorial dialogue instruction in a Explotary learning context
[Proceedings of] ITS 2006, 8th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, 26-30 June 2006, Jhongli, Taoyuan County, TaiwanIn this paper we evaluate the instructional effectiveness of tutorial dialogue agents in an exploratory learning setting. We hypothesize that the creative nature of an exploratory learning environment creates an opportunity for the benefits of tutorial dialogue to be more clearly evidenced than in previously published studies. In a previous study we showed an advantage for tutorial dialogue support in an exploratory learning environment where that support was administered by human tutors [9]. Here, using a similar experimental setup and materials, we evaluate the effectiveness of tutorial dialogue agents modeled after the human tutors from that study. The results from this study provide evidence of a significant learning benefit of the dialogue agentsThis project is supported by ONR Cognitive and Neural Sciences Division, Grant number N000140410107proceedingPublicad
Spin relaxation in a complex environment
We report the study of a model of a two-level system interacting in a
non-diagonal way with a complex environment described by Gaussian orthogonal
random matrices (GORM). The effect of the interaction on the total spectrum and
its consequences on the dynamics of the two-level system are analyzed. We show
the existence of a critical value of the interaction, depending on the mean
level spacing of the environment, above which the dynamics is self-averaging
and closely obey a master equation for the time evolution of the observables of
the two-level system. Analytic results are also obtained in the strong coupling
regimes. We finally study the equilibrium values of the two-level system
population and show under which condition it thermalizes to the environment
temperature.Comment: 45 pages, 49 figure
Hardware and software status of QCDOC
QCDOC is a massively parallel supercomputer whose processing nodes are based
on an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). This ASIC was
custom-designed so that crucial lattice QCD kernels achieve an overall
sustained performance of 50% on machines with several 10,000 nodes. This strong
scalability, together with low power consumption and a price/performance ratio
of $1 per sustained MFlops, enable QCDOC to attack the most demanding lattice
QCD problems. The first ASICs became available in June of 2003, and the testing
performed so far has shown all systems functioning according to specification.
We review the hardware and software status of QCDOC and present performance
figures obtained in real hardware as well as in simulation.Comment: Lattice2003(machine), 6 pages, 5 figure
Exploring Mars at the nanoscale: applications of transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography in planetary exploration
The upcoming Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission aims to deliver small quantities of Martian rocks to the Earth. Investigating these precious samples requires the development and application of techniques that can extract the greatest amount of high quality data from the minimum sample volume, thereby maximising science return from MSR. Atom probe tomography (APT) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are two complementary techniques that can obtain nanoscale structural, geochemical and, in the case of atom probe, isotopic information from small sample volumes. Here we describe how both techniques operate, as well as review recent developments in sample preparation protocols. We also outline how APT has been successfully applied to extraterrestrial materials in the recent past. Finally, we describe how we have studied Martian meteorites using TEM and APT in close coordination in order to characterise the products of water/rock interactions in t h e cru st of Ma r s – a k ey sc ie n ce goal of MSR. Our results provide new insights into the Martian hydrosphere and the mechanisms of anhydrous-hydrous mineral replacement. In light of the unique results provided by these tools, APT and TEM should form a crucial part at the culmination of a correlative analytical pipeline for MSR mission materials
Some peculiarities of motion of neutral and charged test particles in the field of a spherically symmetric charged object in General Relativity
We propose the method of investigation of radial motions for charged and
neutral test particles in the Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m field by means of mass
potential. In this context we analyze special features of interaction of
charges and their motions in General Relativity and construct the radial motion
classification. For test particles and a central source with charges and
, respectively, the conditions of attraction (when ) and repulsion
(when ) are obtained. The conditions of motionless test particle states
with respect to the central source are investigated and, in addition, stability
conditions for such static equilibrium states are found. It is shown that
stable states are possible only for the bound states of weakly charged
particles in the field of a naked singularity. Frequencies of small
oscillations of test particles near their equilibrium positions are also found.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure
Symmetry, dimension and the distribution of the conductance at the mobility edge
The probability distribution of the conductance at the mobility edge,
, in different universality classes and dimensions is investigated
numerically for a variety of random systems. It is shown that is
universal for systems of given symmetry, dimensionality, and boundary
conditions. An analytical form of for small values of is discussed
and agreement with numerical data is observed. For , is
proportional to rather than .Comment: 4 pages REVTeX, 5 figures and 2 tables include
Singularities in the Fermi liquid description of a partially filled Landau level and the energy gaps of fractional quantum Hall states
We consider a two dimensional electron system in an external magnetic field
at and near an even denominator Landau level filling fraction. Using a
fermionic Chern--Simons approach we study the description of the system's low
energy excitations within an extension of Landau's Fermi liquid theory. We
calculate perturbatively the effective mass and the quasi--particle interaction
function characterizing this description. We find that at an even denominator
filling fraction the fermion's effective mass diverges logarithmically at the
Fermi level, and argue that this divergence allows for an {\it exact}
calculation of the energy gaps of the fractional quantized Hall states
asymptotically approaching these filling fractions. We find that the
quasi--particle interaction function approaches a delta function. This singular
behavior leads to a cancelation of the diverging effective mass from the long
wavelength low frequency linear response functions at even denominator filling
fractions.Comment: 46 pages, RevTeX, 5 figures included in a uuencoded postscript file.
Minor revisions relative to the original version. The paper will be published
in the Physical Review B, and can be retrieved from the World Wide Web, in
http://cmtw.harvard.edu/~ster
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